Requests for Last Pass: A to B

I think I have enough good stuff left for one last round. Requests are welcomed: If I don't post it I don't have it on vinyl. If you're still lamenting having missed out on something from an earlier round, I will honour ONE repost request per letter in this final round too: First-posted, first-served.

Next week will be the last pass for A and B bands...so please post your new or repost requests here.

Working Holiday Series

I was too late to become one of the 633 official members of this "singles club", but with some effort I managed to collect all 12 of the Working Holiday Series released monthly on Simple Machines in 1993 (they sold an extra 1200 per month to non-subscribers). Subscribers got some other nifty gifts, including a calendar, a storage box, a birthday gift, and an invitation to hear most of the bands play at a special 3-day concert to celebrate the completion of the series. I didn't get these bonuses but what I did get from this collection was: Hooked on indie pop/rock for life. I'm not a big fan of the word seminal...it gets sprayed around too much, but this series was a big deal to a few impressionable young folks like me (then, not now). I've posted a few songs from the series on YSKOD already, so I thought I'd post four "fresh" ones that I still like a lot. Not to deny you the satiety of the full meal deal, I've included a link at the bottom to archives that contain all 25 songs (sorry I haven't figured out an easy way to create .rar archives on my Mac yet).

Here is a rundown of the series:
January - Scrawl/Versus
Februrary - The Tinklers/Lungfish
March - Codeine/The Coctails
April - Eggs/Jonny Cohen and the Shoe Trees
May - Bratmobile/Veronica Lake
June - My Dad Is Dead/Rastro
July - Nothing Painted Blue/Lois
August - Small Factory/Tsunami
September - Jawbox/Crackerbash
October - The Grifters/Crain
November - Pitchblende/Swirlies
December - Superchunk/Caterpillar

You can read more about the series at the Simple Machines website here. Indeed, it looks like the CD compilation may still available for purchase, although you'll miss out on all the cracks and pops (and some cash) that way. And I know you're here for those cracks and pops and that you need all your cash for crack and pop.

April mp3: Jonny Cohen and The Shoe Trees - Addicted to Chapstick


June mp3: Rastro - Kiss Me


August mp3: Small Factory - If You Hurt Me


November mp3: Swirlies - Trudy

The January to June singles can be downloaded here.
The July to December singles can be downloaded here.
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UPDATE: I forgot to include the October single in the archives, so here are the missing tracks.
October mp3: The Grifters - Under the Ground
October mp3: Crain - Coalmine #666

Wingtip Sloat/YSKOD Contest #2

One of the indie rock bands I've most enjoyed rediscovering through this blog is Virginia's Wingtip Sloat. I loved their shambollingly rollickingly good double 7" Half Past I've Got so much that at the time I picked up a second copy as a backup. Now that I've converted them all to mp3, I've got an extra copy on my hands. More on that below. And, now that I've converted them all to mp3, I have discovered that VHF records, who co-released and distributed much of WS's oeuvre, have just released a 30 song WS compilation, Add This To Rhetoric, on CD for only 10 bucks. So, rather than posting their hand-made oddball-packaged out-of-print singles here in their entirety, I'm going to share a few of my favourite songs, and recommend that you do yourself a favour and shell out a sawbuck to get all 30 songs in their restored digitized glory. I just ordered one from VHF myself, here. For a swell WS discography and biography with reviews, check out the Trouser Press article here.

Here are two songs from 1992's M31 7" EP (Sweet Portable You 003) that show off the Sloat's lo-fi hip hook chops.

Side A mp3: Wingtip Sloat - M31
Side B mp3: Wingtip Sloat - Blessed Nimbus, Churning


Here are two songs from 1992's 13-song double-7" release Half Past I've Got (VHF 2/Sweet Portable Junket 8): an instrumental (give it 30 seconds to warm up) and one of their only acoustic ballady type songs.

Side A mp3: Wingtip Sloat - Mass Fucking in the Haystacks
Side A mp3: Wingtip Sloat - It Reminds Me


And here is a fine song from 1994's Return of the Night of the Ardent Straglller 7" EP (VHF Records 10/Sweet Portable You 11).

Side A mp3: Wingtip Sloat - Beauty

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YSKOD Contest #2

If you would like to own your very own copy of Wingtip Sloat's Half Past I've Got, then this is the contest for you! The first person to post correct answers to these two questions in the comment section of this post is the winner.

1) Songs from what two other bands' VHF releases have appeared on YSKOD?
2) Whence did this blog take its name?
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Versus - Bright Light/Forest Fire 7"

This weekly trip down Reminiscence Boulevard has turned up some surprising subjective flippage and floppage. Keep in mind I haven't listened to many of these singles in a decade. Sometimes I expect to feel meh-ness for a single I used to feel meh-ness for but wind up loving it. Often I expect to love a single I used to love and hey, I do. I expected to love hearing this 7" again, but found myself underwhelmed (I still love "TinFoil Star" from the Working Holiday single-of-the-month on Simple Machines though). Am I a moody bastard? Does the single not hold up? Am I out to lunch now? Was I out to lunch then? These are the riddles a USB turntable owner must ponder with each revolution of the steel wheel. This came out on Pop Narcotic in 1992.

Side A mp3: Versus - Bright Light
Side A mp3: Versus - Forest Fire

The V. Lake Symphony Presents...Two for the Price of One 7"

Nice little chunklet of indie-pop ephemera here. The A-side features what appear to be side projects from the Veronica Lake boys, and the B-side features a band with a self-titled song. As far as I know, none of the bands released anything else. If you know otherwise, do tell. Calling it "Two for the Price of One" is a bit confusing, mind, given there are 4 songs from 3 bands here, but this single was a good deal and heck, it ain't costing you penny the first. Co-released by Winter's Mist and Swing Set in 1993.

Side A mp3: Madison Electric - Shadow of Your Smile
Side A mp3: Madison Electric - Blue as Blue
Side A mp3: Esme's Symphony - Emily Ryan
Side B mp3: The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower - The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower

Velvet Crush - Seminal Twang June 1991 7"

According to the blurbiage on this single, Velvet Crush "wanna write brilliant pop songs" and "have a healthy contempt for the music biz in general" and try their best to "sidestep trends in favour of pure honesty". Preciousness aside, this is a good indie pop single, though they don't beat Teenage Fanclub at their own game. Released on Seminal Twang as their July 1991 single. Cover art by Jad Fair. Nice thick vinyl too.

Side A mp3: Velvet Crush - Ash and Earth
Side A mp3: Velvet Crush - Circling the Sun
Side B mp3: Velvet Crush - Everything Flows (Teenage Fanclub cover)

Twitch Hazel - split "Kramer's Beach" double 7" with Technical Jed

In my books, this "pre-Fudge artifact" is tastier than the real deal. The band struck a real nice balance between pop and rock, and these songs still sound fresh to me, even though this double 7" (split with Technical Jed) was released on Brilliant Records back in 1993.

Side A mp3: Twitch Hazel - Nowhere
Side A mp3: Twitch Hazel - Chilled
Side B mp3: Twitch Hazel - Believe
Side B mp3: Twitch Hazel - Mention

The Tribbles- Split 7" with The Ropers

I've posted The Ropers' lovely contribution to this split 7" before, but The Tribbles side is no slouch. Two solid indie pop songs here, from this mysterious band who I otherwise know zilch about. Released on Brilliant Records in 1994.

Side B mp3: The Tribbles - Mercury
Side B mp3: The Tribbles - Liberty 5-3000

Toshack Highway - Syd's Eyes/Silver Freight Train 7"

Here's the only 7" single I've purchased in the last few years, from the good folks at Tonevendor. This Adam Franklin post-Swervedriver project has not been as consistent or as exciting as his former band, although Silver Freight Train is really very good (and Adam remains a consummate musician). So I've been thrilled to read grindings in the bloggosphere rumour mill of late regarding a possible Swervedriver reunion. Frankly, I eked myself out of all the anticipation I had mustered regarding a possible new MBV album a decade ago. So, I'm pinning my hopes on this Swervedriver rumour now, and also on the band taking things in more of a Raise than a Mezcal Head direction (my bias). Till answers emerge, here are both songs from this 2006 record released in limited quantities on Black Mountain Music.

Side A mp3: Toshack Highway - Syd's Eyes
Side B mp3: Toshack Highway - Silver Freight Train

Slowdive - Beach Song/Take Me Down 7" flexi

No! I'm not really strong! It's a flexi disc! Now don't you feel foolish. There are only 3 flexis in YSKO's D and this one is the belle of the blog. Released on Sunday Records in 1990.

Side A mp3: Slowdive - Beach Song
Side B mp3: Slowdive - Take Me Down

Silver Jews - A Dime Map of the Reef 7" EP

Released on Drag City in 1992, here is D.C. Berman's debut. I seem to recall rumours that this was really Pavement in disguise, due to Steve Malkmus' salient presence throughout. Berman and Malkmus seem to be channeling the ghost of the impossible-to-kill Bob Pollard at times here, and to excellent effect. Lo-fidelity but not lo-quality, I highly recommend this EP. I'm just posting The Walnut Falcon mp3 to whet your appetites, but you can download the whole set of 5 songs via the archive link below.

Side A mp3: Silver Jews - The Walnut Falcon

Download all 5 songs in a zShare archive here.

Shiva Affect - Road Movie 10" EP

Here are two very distinct Shiva Affect songs from the 3-song Road Movie 10" released on UK-based Frog Records in 1994. Road Movie is sultry and sensuous, what with those boy and girl voices slowly intertwining, whereas Pitch Black is, well, mad fucking, complete with a 70s porn-soundtrack-like bridge. Note that this version of Pitch Black differs from the (superior, methinks) 7" version I posted last round. Meek is 6+ minutes of bone-dull and bone-softening sexual abstention that we will abstain from here for virility's sweet sake.

Side A mp3: Shiva Affect - Road Movie
Side B mp3: Shiva Affect - Pitch Black (10" version)